Climate Skeptics and Coal Boosters Gather to Cheer Trump's Energy Agenda — and Hold His Feet to the Fire

Title

CNBC cited Myron Ebell on the developing successes by the Trump administration with its energy agenda as well as covered him biographically

HOUSTON — Clips of President Donald Trump extolling the virtues of fossil fuels played over a bed of soaring music, in the well-appointed hotel ballroom, as images of coal miners and the Statue of Liberty flashed across the screen.

When the video came to a close, the audience erupted in applause and the conservative energy conference began.

But over the next 12 hours of panels and speeches, one thing quickly became clear: The organizers and audience were not satisfied with the nation's flight from the frontlines of climate change under Trump. They want him to retreat much further, much faster.

The movement, deeply skeptical of climate change and influential in the White House, reaffirmed its vow to keep pressure on the president to finish dismantling his predecessor's legacy and reshape the Environmental Protection Agency.

About 250 members of the movement last week attended the conservative Heartland Institute's America First Energy Conference, named for Trump's broad energy plan. They gathered to celebrate and take stock of Trump's progress rolling back Obama-era regulations and his blueprint for achieving U.S. "energy dominance."

"We need to support everything that the Trump administration is doing that's moving toward less regulation and more freedom, and we need to oppose them when they start going bad and the swamp starts taking over."

-Myron Ebell, former leader of President Trump's EPA transition team

....

"This is a great moment. Everybody should savor it and keep pushing," said Myron Ebell, who led Trump's EPA transition team. "We need to support everything that the Trump administration is doing that's moving toward less regulation and more freedom, and we need to oppose them when they start going bad and the swamp starts taking over."

...

Ebell, the former Trump EPA transition leader, said it is crucial to get Congress to codify these objectives into law. Otherwise, Trump could have his deregulatory agenda swept aside by a hostile successor wielding executive power — just like Obama is seeing his climate initiatives undone.

In the past, conservatives have been too quick to declare success once a Republican takes the Oval Office, he said.

"The environmental movement will get 95 percent of what they want from an administration and they'll complain and say, we're being sold out because we didn't get 100 percent," Ebell said during the conference.

"We get 50 percent of what we want and we say thank you. We shouldn't do that."

At the close of the session, Ebell said he wanted to end on an upbeat note. He praised Trump for doing what the last two Republican presidents refused to do: tell the world that the United States is done talking about climate change.

The crowd broke out into applause. As the clapping died down, an audience member yelled from the back of the room, "Myron for president!"